Qantas and its subsidiary Jetstar reportedly will reorganise their fleets in early 2025 in a bid to add up to 300,000 additional seats.
Qantas will transfer its larger planes to routes currently served by smaller aircraft, according to The Australian. The airlines plan to increase capacity on lucrative domestic routes, such as between Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
“We’re so excited to be offering our customers more than 220,000 additional seats on our network, a new international destination, and our brand-new A220 aircraft for our Singapore – Darwin flights,” Qantas CEO Cam Wallace said in October.
New A220 planes will begin flying with QantasLink in March. The A220, which hosts 137 seats, is planned to eventually replace QantasLink’s Boeing 717s.
Jetstar has received 18 new 220-seat A321neo aircraft so far, with four more on their way.
Qantas also aims to increase capacity on flights to the United States by 13%.
The airline will end Qantas flights between Sydney and Port Moresby from February 1, part of its efforts to free up aircraft capacity.
Qantas withdrew from mainland China earlier this year following low demand. Flights from Sydney to Shanghai ended in July.
“In some months, our flights to and from Shanghai have been operating around half full,” Wallace said at the time.
Qantas’ (ASX: QAN) share price stood at A$8.71 at the time of writing, down from the previous day’s close at $8.90. Its market capitalisation is A$13.2 billion.